


strangle you, strangle me

by Beanus



Series: finally found you [3]
Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character study(?), Gen, and all of them are PISSED, fair warning headcanon is PRETTY big, giovanni: so you've chosen death, headcanon regarding molly's family and the blasters, martin can't deal with grief, martin commits THE fucky-wucky, martin redemption arc, no actual hits though he just grabs her, percy joins the banzai buddies, sylvie tries to be impartial and fails, the banzai blasters are one big family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21773047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beanus/pseuds/Beanus
Summary: "This was his family now. He was trying so hard to make this work, to keep them together."In a flash of impulsive anger, Martin commits a grave mistake. As he struggles to fix what has been broken, he discovers that perhaps his youngest isn't so lost in the world as he thought.
Relationships: Molly Blyndeff & Banzai Blasters, Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage, Molly Blyndeff & Indus Tarbella, Molly Blyndeff & Martin Blyndeff, Molly Blyndeff & Mera Salamin, Molly Blyndeff & Percival King, Molly Blyndeff & Sylvester Ashling
Series: finally found you [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565068
Comments: 108
Kudos: 613





	1. please come back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martin wakes up, he remembers, and he regrets.

Sometimes, the most scathing emotional blows can come from a child. Whether it be their lack of a mental filter, a flash of impulse, or even a simple bad mood, a child backed into a corner can unleash the most vicious attacks.

Martin Blyndeff was no child.

This Friday had started off little different than any other. Molly had run off to school after sleeping past her alarm, the naughty girl, with her sister having already left. That wasn't so bad, he thought, as he grabbed his favorite cereal and got some breakfast before work.

She'd been looking nervous all week. A small part of him wondered why, wanted to know why, but he shrugged it off. Molly was always nervous about something. She really needed to lighten up.

Did she eat? Probably. He didn't watch her, but Molly was responsible like that. He already had enough on his plate to deal with anyway, Molly could take care of herself. Her sister was even older, ergo she could take care of her even better. He hadn't ever _seen_ her take care of Molly, but he probably just missed it. He provided them the money, anyway, so all they had to do was make use of it.

It was just fair.

Another day, another dollar for Martin Blyndeff. Until Molly got home, anyway.

* * *

_"Hey, Dad? Can you, um...can you take over my shift today? I-I haven't been studying a lot recently, and my grades have really-"_

_"Aw c'mon, Molly! I'm already busy buildin' the toys._ _A loooooot of work goes into making sure they're good enough to sell, kiddo. It's what we adults call 'time management', you'll get it eventually!"_

_She wilted, as if she knew he'd respond that way._

* * *

Why, though? When did she learn that look of resignation, why did it slip so readily onto her face? Even now, as Martin sat on the sofa and stared at the TV, trying to soak in some meaningless chatter on a late-night TV show, he didn't get it. He'd been a good father, right? He loved Molly and Millie. He did his job.

He did his job even when the world took his wife away, tore him to pieces and spit him back out.

He was _trying_.

* * *

_"Dad, I need more time for myself! I-I can't...doing night shift is really m-messing with me, Dad..."_

_"Hey, Molly, we all got to do our share around here," Martin had stated, crossing his arms and fixing Molly with a stern gaze. "The store ain't gonna run itself!"_

_"I-I guess 'we all' doesn't mean Millie, huh?" Molly had blurted out, and by the sudden widening of her eyes it seemed like she really didn't mean to say that._

_...What?_

_"Molly?!"_

_Molly would never say that! What...what was going on here?_

_What was she trying to imply?_

* * *

_The writing was there on the wall all along, Martin,_ a traitorous part of his mind hissed, cutting him off from the memory. _You just didn't see it. You stopped looking ever since the fire-_

He didn't mean for it to get worse from there.

* * *

_"That was completely uncalled for, Molly! Why would you accuse your sister like that?!"_

_"I-IT'S TRUE!" She shouted back, and Martin started at just how angered she look. At Millie? At him? "A-A-ALL SHE DOES IS S-SIT AROUND AND L-LAUGH AT ME, INSULT ME WHEN I MESS UP L-LIKE..." Molly's fire dwindled out as soon as it flared, her hands wringing almost frantically as she willed herself to finish. "LIKE SOME HUGE, U-USELESS JERK!"_

_She was staring up into his eyes now. Those beautiful forest green eyes, begging him to understand._

_Why didn't he?_

_"Molly don't you_ **dare** _talk about your sister that way!" he had roared, and there was a very real part of him that writhed in agony as his youngest daughter's face twisted into something resembling despair and fear._ _It was overpowered, however, at the rage he felt._

_What was he angry at?_

_She was looking at **him**_ _like that, he'd later realize. She was looking at the childish, grieving shell he'd become, and the fact that he could see that now only deepened the cracks._

_And within those cracks lay bitter anger, raw and unchecked._

_"I'm n-not lying, Dad! You didn't see it, you- you weren't there! And when you were, you...you didn't stop her!"_

* * *

Martin let his face fall into his hands, pleading to whatever God existed out there that he would wake up. That all of this was some hideous wake-up call of a nightmare. That he'd wake up, Molly would be there letting out her little sigh as she pulled his blanket off while Millie was in the back...laughing.

He began shaking.

Did he really deserve such luck?

* * *

_"Molly Blyndeff," he stated calmly, a nauseating whirlpool of anger and regret in his gut that somehow managed to cancel each other out for the moment, leaving his voice level and his gaze cool. "Go to your room right now."_

_"What?" she whispered._

_"Now, Molly. We'll talk about this some other day."_

_Her gaze swept frantically around the store, breaths shaky and uneven. It was like the walls were closing in for her, he'd later imagine, and it was all his fault._

_His fault, his fault, **his fault**._

_"...N-No."_

_"No?"_

_"Mmm- I, no, I'm sorr-" her throat clamped shut, so she simply shook her head. "D-Dad, no! We're- We have to- m-my friend told me to stand up for myself, s-so...you-!"_

_He stepped towards her, and she took a sudden step back. Molly never acted this. She never went against him. Why? Why now? Was he in the wrong? Was she lying? She had to be. Too many questions, not enough answers._

_He was the adult, and he knew best. He'd sort this...this nonsense...out later._

_This was **his** family now. He was trying so hard to make this work, to keep them together._

_She wasn't here anymore._

_She wouldn't help him anymore, wouldn't hold his hand and go 'No, Martin, let me handle this'._

_So he had to help himself._

_And if he had to punish one of his daughters for stepping out of line, then...!_

_He took a step forward. Molly took a step back_

_"S-Stop, Dad!"_

_He kept walking, even when she stumbled and fell._

* * *

Martin's hands curled up, tightly gripping his forehead. He could feel his lips pull back into an ugly grimace, one that let his agony show clearly on his face, as he curled up into a ball.

* * *

_"Dad? D-Dad? You're s-scaring me...!"_

_Something about her tone, something about the raw terror in her as she scrambled backwards, it shook him to his very core._

_What was he angry at?_

_His march continued._

* * *

Martin Blyndeff was no child. Molly was.

So why the hell did he have to act like one? Why the hell did he have to hurt his daughter, one of the few people he had left?

What the hell was **_wrong_** with him...?

* * *

_Molly's back hit the glass window, her panic set to the light of the evening sun._

_Martin roughly grabbed her by the arm (it was so close to her_ **neck** _, Martin), intent on dragging her up to her room and she screamed and-_

_A pulse._

_He could fee l himself sl ippin_ g

s _he jus_ t

_di_ d

_mol?_

* * *

She had used her Epithet.

On a lazy Friday afternoon just touching night, 5:47 PM, Molly Blyndeff had run away from home after incapacitating her father with her Epithet. Her room had been turned upside down, clothes hurriedly thrown everywhere in a mad packing spree as she scrambled to get away.

_Get away from him. Get away and never turn back._

Who knows where she went?

It was now 9:46, an hour after Martin had regained his bearings. He was alone tonight, his eldest daughter Millie having disappeared for another sleepover with her friends with nary a word.

Good. He didn't want her to see him.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed, as if waiting for the couch cushions to respond. To tell him that Molly would come back, that she'd understand that he just lost his temper. He'd never hurt her.

_But you did_ , that dark voice crowed, oozing with triumph.

He could almost imagine her. He could almost imagine her screaming at him, screaming _'how the fuck could you do that to her, how the fuck could you hurt our little cub like that, Martin?!'_

"I'm sorry...Bera, Bera, I'm _sorry...!_ " Martin Blyndeff had cried, gripping and tearing at his hair in an effort to suppress his manic grief. The stars in his beard, once a vibrant link to his youngest, felt like brittle sandpaper.

He tried. He tried so very hard to pretend nothing was wrong, that his family lived in a perpetual stasis of happiness.

_What a fool you are, what a fool I am._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh.  
> ...  
> ...  
> ...  
> In other news, I was gonna be cute and post this tomorrow at 5:47, but I want to put this out there for everyone to digest before my finals get within slapping distance. Expect 2-3 more chapters soon.


	2. hello again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly runs until she can't anymore, right into his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ THIS FIRST!  
> ...  
> This chapter contains spoilers for episode 5 - Redwood Run and onwards, proceed with caution! If you haven't watched that episode on VRV yet, you can always get a free trial! Alternatively, though I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS, you probably can find the episodes somewhere else online. Remember, supporting Jello through official channels increases the chance of a second season.  
> ...

Giovanni Potage is a man with very few fears. Why should he have any at all, when he's the baddest of all asses, the coolest of the cool kids, the (self-appointed) Best Candidate for Supervillain in All Time?

Yeah, that's what he thought. Well, that was before his boys entered the picture, of course. They're like little puppies with guns, all bright-eyed and eager to follow him into the fray to commit some wicked crimes not out of the promise of pay, but because they liked him.

Heck, they even quit the Banzai Blasters when word got out that he dumped them. They only had each other now, so to go through hell for them would be merely repaying a debt.

So that's why Giovanni Potage was staring at his phone while trying to convince himself that everything was okay, opened up to a single message.

**Molly Blyndeff** (Sent at 4:35 PM) / (getting back from school, will talk to dad about the shifts, I will lyk how it goes after. See you soon boss!)

It was 10:00 on the dot now, and he had heard nothing. No 'it went great I've totally got crime time now boss', not even 'everything sucks, I work here forever, please make me feel better by telling me how cool I am'.

Nothing. And curse his overactive imagination for wondering what exactly went down for Bear Trap, his awkwardly lovable boy, to leave him in the dark like this.

"Hey boss," a voice called out, jolting him out of his thoughts. "You look pensive."

Crusher was one of his oldest boys, there when he was just a fledgling Bonzai Captain trying to make his evil way through the world. Even though he made this tea kettle sound whenever Giovanni touched him, or serenaded him on his birthday about some weird tale of star-crossed lovers from 'the same world' (he wasn't that great at poetry, alright?), Giovanni knew he could trust him with anything.

"Eh, well...I gave some advice to Bear Trap earlier, and-"

"Who's Bear Trap again?" Ben interrupted, causing the table to groan a little.

"The little girl, the one who you tried to get the nickname 'Kidpuncher' off of."

"Oh, she became part of our crew? Niceeee."

The table was silent as Car Crash's admission sunk in.

"...You were gonna do _what now?_ " Giovanni began lowly, fixing Ben with a chilly glare that clashed harshly with the soup steaming off of him. The rest of Giovanni's museum squad didn't react much better, with Spike fixing him with a very disapproving look, Dark Star shaking his head and Crusher simply raising an intrigued eyebrow.

"O-Okay, alright, _maybe_ I got into character a little too much that night! I-I wasn't actually gonna hit her though, I swear boss! Ain't that right, guys?!"

Giovanni shot a look at Flamethrower, who shrugged his shoulders. "Out cold by that big buff guy."

"Fred."

Car Crash gulped. Boss didn't use his name unless he wanted to scold him or they were around a lot of witnesses. "I was just holding an arm, honest. I didn't think Ben would actually punch her, and if he _did_ ," he shot his own glare at Ben, who chuckled nervously. "I would've backed off. I'm a bad guy, not a monster."

Giovanni swept his gaze over the three one last time before he let the tension (and soup) seep out of his body. "Good. Ben, if I hear you punched a kid, I'm gonna punch you _one bajillion times harder_ with my Soulslugger Doombat, alright?"

"Yes, sir."

"...As I was saying earlier, gave some advice to Bear Trap on how to deal with her stupid dad," Giovanni grumbled, all of his boys now giving him their full attention. "It's been like, five hours seen since she told me about it and I'm...kinda worried about how she's doing right now."

Crusher nodded. "That doting side of you _is_ pretty dreamy."

"...What?"

"What?"

"What he _meant_ to say was that it's just like you to show concern to us minion-boys, boss," Dark Star cut in, sending a wink at Crusher. He got a nod and a sigh in return.

"Oh, yeah, of course," Giovanni muttered, staring out of the window. The rest of the table exchanged looks at the sight of this. This girl was obviously super important to the boss, even if she was newer than Ben. Usually, this side of him was saved for more somber affairs, like that time Dark Star caught the flu or when Flamethrower admitted that he put salt on his pineapples for "extra kick".

They needed to approach this carefully.

"I'm sure she's fine, boss," Spike shot him a sharp-toothed grinned, nudging Giovanni with her shoulder. "She looked pretty smart to me."

"Yeah! Maybe she went to sleep or something, and she's just planning on texting you in the morning. I wouldn't worry about it, boss."

Glancing at Ben, Giovanni heaved a sigh and leaned into his seat. "Yeah, I'll try. Alright, since I kinda bummed everyone out, next colas are on me. You're all very welcome, my dear boys!"

They cheered, which made him just happy enough to push his worries to the back of his mind.

* * *

Molly shook like a leaf as she stared blankly ahead from her seat on the park bench. Once filled with people and noise, the night brought with it a relative emptiness that was now oppressive instead of calming. The few people who were milling about gave her curious looks, but kept moving.

Immediately after she stumbled out of the toy store, she ran. She ran until she found herself in the middle of a park, the sun having just disappeared over the horizon. She'd rested then, but the cold realization had hit her soon after.

She'd run away from home.

She'd run away from her dad.

He grabbed her.

He was going to hurt her.

Or...

Was he? Did she overreact? Her thoughts flitted erratically through her head, never there for long enough and always leaving when she thought she had something. Now she had nothing. She didn't want to go home, in fear of what dad would do if she showed her face again. He was never that angry before.

She did that. She made him like that, all twisted and cold. Now she was scared, and alone, and she _hated_ that vulnerable feeling, and she wanted to scream and cry because who would help a miserable uppity little girl like her-

_"Look, if it goes bad and you need me, I'm gonna be at Mama's with the boys tomorrow, so you don't have to worry about a thing!"_

A memory cut through the darkness, and it was that cocky grin that was able to ground her. A small part of her quaked at the idea of bothering anyone else with this, but it was the boss. It was Giovanni.

"He'd understand," Molly whispered, desperately keeping her friends' smiling faces in her memory as a shield against the dark. Sylvie's bright smile as he noticed a special group of four file into his lecture hall. Indus' laugh as they all shared stew. Mera's secret joy at having what amounted to a family dinner.

It was late, it was dark, and she was exhausted, scared, hungry, and a bunch of other things that made her want to give up and lay down. But she willed herself to get off the bench and stumble out of the park. She'd make it to Mama's within an hour, if she hurried.

He'd understand.

* * *

"And then I was like, 'Ben, you moron, you've been kissing my ficus for the last ten minutes, my parents want you to leave!'. To this day, he's still banned from my house."

The table burst into laughter as Flamethrower ended the story, Ben coughing into his hand to hide his blush.

"Look man, how was I supposed to know that your dad's secret whiskey cabinet had some strong stuff in it?"

"I dunno, maybe try looking up what whiskey is?" Spike snarked back, Dark Star letting out a hiss.

"More like maybe try _not looking around my house for secrets_ next time, Ben!"

"I-I'M A NATURALLY INQUISITIVE SOUL, ALRIGHT?!"

Giovanni shook his head and smiled at his boys' banter. "I hate to cut the merriment short, minions, but we got ten minutes till closin' time. Let's wrap this up and get ready for tomorrow, we're going to do..." he leaned in dramatically to whisper. "A _crime_."

"Loitering?"

"Nah, we did that last week, but your diligence is duly noted Dark Star."

The bell above the door rang as it opened, but Giovanni didn't pay it any mind.

"Throwing bottles into regular trash?"

" _Sinister!_ We need to scope out a location for that first, but I love the idea! High five!"

Someone was approaching them, if the sound of footsteps getting closer was any indication. Or maybe getting closer but not actually wanting to interact with them.

They were smart. Criminals like him could give anyone trouble!

"Embezzlement?"

"I was thinking prank calls, but I love the enthusiasm guys! Alright, let's-" Giovanni instantly whipped around to look at the flash of brown that entered his peripheral vision. His eyes widened as his brain caught up to the fact that no, it wasn't some goody-two-shoes rando, it was Molly Blyndeff who was standing right there looking at him.

Molly Blyndeff who, depending on how the talk should've gone, should be working or off in dreamland right now. That she was here now, completely silent, filled him with some indescribable sense of dread.

"Is that Bear Trap?"

"Yup."

"Gotta be her, lookit that hoodie."

"Aww, 's pretty cute! Lookit those little ears!"

"Yeah, is that custom-made? My compliments to the tailor!"

Giovanni tuned the chatter out as he stared at Molly. Quite frankly, she looked like shit as he noted every detail; her clothing was in utter disarray, her backpack was stuffed and sagging, her hair was more 'unintentional chaos' than 'chaotically fluffy', her breaths were shaky and uneven, and her eyes...

Molly was an expressive little girl. What she was feeling was always rather plain to see; you'd know if she was feeling apprehensive at saying something wrong, you could see the joy on her face whenever she's hanging out with her pals. You could see the nervousness in the way her mouth twitches, the way her eyes light up whenever someone even so much as _hints_ that they could stay for _juuuust_ a bit longer.

What her eyes told him now was that something happened. Something bad, so bad that she couldn't even put it into words for her best friend, and she was here now. She was here because she absolutely **_could not be_** at home.

" _Fuck_ ," Giovanni rasped as he immediately stumbled out of the booth and crouched down to her level. His minions were stunned silent, almost mesmerized at the sight of their boss so graceless.

The backpack, Giovanni's mind whispered _. Goddamnit._

Why else would she be here, trying and failing to ask him for help?

_It's all my fucking fault._

"Molly," Giovanni started quietly, placing his hands gently on her shoulder. He didn't miss her minute trembling, the flinch with a sharp inhale when he touched her. His mind ran wild with assumptions, but he couldn't let it show on his face, she needed him now. "You're safe."

She looked at him, wordlessly asking him with those wide eyes if he was lying.

He hated it so much.

"You're safe now."

He made sure to be slow as he wrapped his arms around her back, getting to his feet and grasping her tight, as if she'd disappear if he let go.

"I'm here. You made it..."

For a tense couple of minutes, she was silent. Everyone was. Everyone was waiting for it to be broken, for the dam to burst.

And hell did it hurt when it did.

"H-Hhhhhgh...Ghhhhph- ghk...GiovaaaAAAA...!" he could feel her crumple against him as she desperately grasped at his coat. The movies always made crying look fancy. Pretty little sobs by actors who probably haven't cried for real in years, something you can put almost perfectly into words or a picture frame. It was a sterilized art.

Real crying was guttural, it came from the throat, and it was mixed with all sorts of snot and other shit that tore at your heartstrings. It was pure emotion, manifested in its most primal form. Molly screamed out her fear, her despair, into his shoulder as he just held her tight. What else could he do? Shooting a look at the rest of his boys, he quickly stepped away and made his way towards the doors.

_Let the others know,_ his brain helpfully supplied as they stepped out into the cold night air. He slowly thought it over as he ran his hand through his minion's hair, her scream-crying having thankfully quieted down after a couple of harrowing minutes. All that was left was her limply whimpering in his arms, which wasn't really that much better.

Sylvie would be first to know this happened. Although the kid was pompous and annoying, he was the only one of Molly's friend circle who had the credentials to _really_ help her. Giovanni had to begrudgingly admit that while he could hug her all day and tell her she's safe with him (and damn right he fucking would), that'd only go so far.

He'd let the kid know, after Molly gave the okay of course.

"Hhhh...H-hck...Gio...?" Molly shakily whispered, and his full attention instantly went to her.

"Yeah, Molly?"

"..."

"Molly?"

"H-He grabbed me...!"

Giovanni blinked. He? Who? Who the fu- No, right, her dad.

Her dad grabbed her.

A staggering surge of anger shot through his spine at the realization. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to stomp over to the Blyndeff Toy Emporium and scald the fucker, make the poor fool who thought they could get away with hurting _his_ minion beg for mercy and **suffer**.

Beyond that, even. You never, **ever** , did that to a kid, let alone your own. Was he going to hit her? Dunno. Didn't wanna know, the thought made him see red.

Wouldn't be good for Molly right now, though, so he stamped it down and wracked his brain for something else to comfort her with.

"Where?" he blurted out, mentally punching himself in the nuts.

"Arm..."

Giovanni slowly crouched to let her down, and almost gave into the urge to pick her back up and _squeeze_ when she very reluctantly let go.

"If you want, I could take a look at it and, erm, heal it? Y'know, if it...hurts?"

_God that was so lame._

"Um," Molly gingerly touched the area, right below the shoulder, and winced. "O-Okay. I...I trust you."

"You're the best, Bear Trap," he muttered back, trying and failing to mask the fact that he was extremely touched.

From her shy half-smile, he guessed she noticed.

He rolled up her sleeve, offhandedly noting that her arm had little to no muscle, and stared at the discolored spot.

"O-Oh."

Oh, indeed. But Giovanni kept his choice words to himself and willed some potent pea soup into his hand, gently placing it on the bruise. **+1** , **+1** , **+1** , and the damage was healed.

"T-Thank you."

"A'course," he ruffled her hair, and she leaned into his hand. "Bear Trap, I'll give it to you straight, you can't go home."

"..."

"So _obviously_ , as your incredibly compassionate boss I shall allow you into my lair!"

"...!"

"Look, I...I don't want you going back there, back to your idiot dad, anytime soon. You don't have to worry about anything, I'll convince my mom that you can stay, and we can make soup, and we can knit, and...y'know what? No evil!"

"Eh?"

"We'll lay low! Think of it as a vacation, Bear Trap. Now that we're flyin' solo, we're beholden to no master!"

"W-Wait, you...quit the Banzai Blasters?"

Giovanni shrugged. "I don't need some disrespectful jerks who don't respect their minions, Bear Trap. I live for you and my boys, nobody else. Remember that, it's best to cut those sorts of toxic influences out of your life."

"Yeah, it is..."

_Bad timing_ , his mind berated, watching Molly shrink in on herself again. Another distraction...

"Anyways, if you're gonna stay over, we're gonna need some food. Although my soup is _to die for_ , I think a certain bear-themed minion of mine deserves some treats!"

"Bear-themed...? O-Oh, oh goodness you meant me!"

Giovanni rolled his eyes and patted her head.

"I don't know, Gio, I-I don't want you to waste your money..."

"Nonsense! Loser's talk!" he exclaimed, internally cheering at the fact that his nickname was now officially 'Gio'. "What sort of crappy supervill- _friend_ would I be if I didn't take care of you in your time of need?!"

Molly looked away, her face scrunching up. "B-But I'm not worth-"

He cut her off with a finger pressed to her mouth. "Molly Blyndeff, you are _totally_ worth it. Don't you **dare** ever think that again, best friend's order!"

"Wha-"

"You are," he stated with finality. "And I'll keep repeating it until you believe it yourself!"

It took her a moment, but Molly sent him a wobbly smile, about to respond before a slam sent her scrambling into Giovanni's stomach. "WHAT?! I thought **I** was your best friend!"

Giovanni turned his head to the door to see his boys peeking around the corner, stacked on top of each other in an incredibly inconspicuous tower.

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"Nope."

"Yep!"

"Kinda?"

"I went to use the restroom!" Dark Star helpfully supplied.

"I thought we were _friends_ , boss!" Car Crash dramatically wailed, falling into Spike's arms with clearly-fake sobs.

Giovanni looked at his squabbling pile of boys and let out a fond sigh. Crouching down and pointing to his back, he let her scramble around and hook her arms around his neck, looping an arm under her legs to hold her up.

"Listen up, minions! We march on the supermarket before the day ends, to honor a super brave boy! Our target: Molly's favorite stuff! Who is daring, who is brave enough _to join me?!_ "

The ex-Blasters cheered their approval and got into formation, Giovanni swelling with pride.

"What the heck're we waiting for then?! Let's move out!"

Striding forward ahead of the pack, Giovanni made his way into the darkness of the night with Molly on his back and his boys at the rearguard.

"Gio?"

"Yeah, Molly?"

"...Thank you very much," she whispered, pressing her nose against his cheek. It was such an awkwardly Molly thing that Giovanni couldn't help but burst out laughing, ignoring her embarrassed huff and little slap.

* * *

**「This is the beginning of your direct message history with @Dr. Sylvester Ashling.」**

**PRO-TAGE** Today at 11:46 PM  
HAHAHA I WIN MOLLY CALLS ME GIO NOW

**Dr. Sylvester Ashling** Today at 11:51 PM  
Wha t fu k  
its almost midnitg  
iwassASLEEP

**PRO-TAGE** Today at 11:52 PM  
YEAH U ALWAYS SLEEPIN AHAHAHAHAA

**Dr. Sylvester Ashling** Today at 11:53 PM  
GIOVANI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Sorry if this chapter seems all over the place, been writing it in-and-out of Statistic finals and I am exhausted! There are probably tons of errors in a lot of places, but we do this live. Percy and Martin will be entering the plot proper soon, I promise, I just needed to write out the Molly-Giovanni reunion and introduce the Blasters (or ex-Blasters).
> 
> Side note, Jello has confirmed on his Tumblr that Molly's sister's name is Lorelai, and her only defining trait is "She's awful". Good for me regardless, but just pretend that her name was that in the first chapter.


	3. reach out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly stays with Giovanni, but a shadow looms overhead. Sylvie, ever dutiful, begins to make his play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That season finale was wild! I won't spoil it, but boy do I love every character introduced in the second arc. When the second season hits, you absolutely KNOW I'll be there.
> 
> Also, one of the characters introduced at the very end of the last episode is pure fluff I love them.

A field of sunflowers. The feeling of her hand in his, as she cooed at the fat little bumblebees, flitting about to collect pollen in blissful ignorance of the large world around them. Their youngest daughter, just three months old, babbling and giggling at her parents' smiles, lit up by a sea of gold.

A dream where he still had everything, when the world was his oyster. A beautiful dream, one that should've ended with him staring into his wife's breathtaking eyes as they lay in the grass, with her sharing a dream to bring smiles to _every_ child, not just their own.

A dream where everything was _right_. That was the dream that Martin Blyndeff was ripped away from, once again and as always.

"W-Wha...?" he slurred, rubbing his eyes from his position on the couch. The events of yesterday were still fuzzy, and as Martin stumbled to the bathroom and splashed water on his face, they filtered in with a chilling certainty.

He had an argument with his daughter ( _why,_ _Martin_ ). Said argument spiraled out of his control to somewhere horrible ( _why would you do this to me, Martin_ ). Molly was gone ( _WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME MARTIN-_ )

Gripping the counter and voiding his mind, Martin took in several deep, steadying breaths before blindly grasping for a towel. A towel that wasn't there, because Molly wasn't up to set one out before he could even dream of waking up. He sighed, she really couldn't have just-

He immediately stamped down that thought before it could finish, a wave of shame rolling over him. That was the reason she left, wasn't it? This, what he just did, was the reason she left.

 _This is the reason, Martin_ , he kept hearing, kept repeating, even if he really wanted it to stop. Damn it. Damn all of this. Damn him. All he wanted to do was to see Molly again, see her and whisk her into his arms and tell her that he was _never_ going to hurt her like that ever again...but that was impossible. He didn't know where she was, he didn't know if she was safe, he didn't know if she _wanted_ to come back.

The person he became when he grabbed her...it scared him.

 _You didn't deserve her, Martin,_ that voice again. _You didn't deserve Molly, you didn't deserve Bera, you didn't-_

Martin gripped his head and shook.

He could entertain all of those thoughts, all of his inner demons, when he fixes this mess. His mind, rusty from disuse, slowly shook off the cobwebs as it whirred to life.

He'd need to search for clues. Anything his daughter may have left behind ( _in her mad rush to get away from you_ ). He needed the police, as they probably have methods of finding Molly that would make his head spin. He would need to close up the store for now and devote himself to something that truly mattered.

 _How long has it even been?_ Martin asked himself, staring into the sink. How long has it been since he felt like he had a purpose?

Martin Blyndeff looked into the mirror as he dried his face with some paper towels, and what he saw was quite the sight. For the first time in a long time, he saw mundie eyes stare back at him with a determination he thought was dead and buried.

 _Please, just watch over me Bera,_ he gulped, rushing to his room to dig out his cleanest dress shirt. Perhaps he didn't deserve forgiveness. Perhaps he'd never get to start over with Molly and Lorelai again, become the father they deserved.

Perhaps and maybes, swirling around his head in a haunting limbo.

 _But we've got to do something_ , the dark part of him gently reminded him, and for once in his life he had to agree.

The police station wouldn't stay open all day, after all.

* * *

Giovanni and Molly's morning had gone comparatively different, mainly because of Giovanni having slept on the floor and the fact that it wasn't quite as 'morning' as he thought.

The first thing that was established after their shopping spree was that no, Molly would not sleep on the couch because she was their _guest_. Yes, Molly, blankets would help with the cold, but it's the heart of winter and a handful of blankets won't keep the bitter chill out of the living room no matter how much you pout.

 _Yeah Molly, I **am**_ _whining, because you're being an idiot again_ , Giovanni had huffed to himself as he dragged her up the stairs like a football despite her quiet yet persistent protests. He would've lent her his mom's room, since she was out having a weekend with 'the girls' like that meant something, but it smelled like week-old wine and moth balls inside and may God strike him down where he stood if he ever left her in there.

So she took his awesome race-car bed, the sheets thankfully having been washed the day before, and he took a couple of blankets and a pillow and slept on the carpet. Simple.

Except that Molly was most assuredly _not_ on the bed. Giovanni had woken up to soft pressure on the right side of his body, and when he checked he found that Molly was pressed under his armpit under the sheets, her soft snores blowing some of her many curls from her eyes before they fluffed back into place.

It was so disgustingly cute that all he could do was be a responsible adult, snap a couple pictures (like a dozen but it was _for the chatroom alright_ ) and lay back, thinking of what to do today.

It started off light at first - breakfast, maybe they could knit some stuff because he had _no idea_ if Molly had more than one outfit. Did kids still like zoos? Maybe...? He just _had_ to drift to darker topics, like if Molly's dumbass dad ever took her to a zoo when he wasn't busy with a foot up his-

_Hey, c'mon Giovanni, stop it._

He sighed, his hand almost unconsciously stroking Molly's hair. According to her, everything went downhill when her mom died, and from the sound of it her dad and sister were hit hard. Sure, it didn't justify them being jerks to a sweet little girl, and it most definitely did not excuse the fact that Molly was a _lot_ more grown-up for her age than he was comfortable with...

But maybe, _maybe_ Molly's dad should have his time to talk on neutral ground. If Molly was up to it. If he was still a huge asshole, then that just meant Giovanni Potage had an all-access pass to some premium-grade butt to kick.

Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. Sylvie did say during the museum heist that he did some domestic stuff along with that boring epithet doctor garbage, so maybe he could be the judge here and fix them up. Also, if Molly's dad was a huge asshole, then Sylvie could just summon Beefcake and they'd beat him up together.

He'd respect Sylvie a little more if that was the case. In any case, they'd make the call later.

"Mmrgh..."

Molly let out a big yawn as she stretched, nearly hitting an amused Giovanni in the face with her tiny fist. Eyes fluttering open, she dully looked around, first at the ceiling, then at the bed, then at Giovanni.

Who was most certainly awake and smirking at her.

"I see you slept well, minion. That's great!" Giovanni chuckled as she dug her face into her arms with a pitiful groan.

"S-Sorry, sorry boss..."

"Hey, no, it's fine. But why did you decide to get out of my cool kid bed, anyway? You use the bathroom or somethin'?"

"No, I...uh..."

Giovanni straightened his smirk out into a softer grin. "I won't judge, Molly. Even if your reason is lame," he added, winking.

"Well...when I was little, I'd go to mom or d-dad and cuddle with them, s-since I was kinda...afraid of the dark? I thought I got over it, but, well, uh-"

He closed his right arm, bringing her in for a one-armed hug. "So totally _not_ lame. Hey, Molly, you know what I used to be afraid of?"

"Whff?" she mumbled, moving her face out of his side and staring at him with those large, trusting eyes of hers.

"Worms. They looked like noodles, y'see, and stupid kid me thought that I was boiling them alive for my soup. Cried whenever I saw 'em!"

Molly burst out into giggles, which Giovanni decided to count as his win.

"So you were a nice kid too, huh boss?"

"Hey, the niceness balanced how _horribly **eeEEEevil**_ _I am!_ But enough about me, let's talk about you! And lunch!"

Molly's eyes widened. "I woke up that late?"

"Eh, don't worry about it, I woke up a little while before you did anyway."

"Oh, alright then. I'll help out with lunch, y'know...if you want."

Giovanni chuckled as he let go of Molly and sat up, stretching and hearing the pops in his spine. There was a certain triumphant feeling in knowing that with mom gone, the kitchen was now solely his domain. While Molly was staying here, there would be no TV dinners.

Or wine. Eugh, the smell of cheap wine _cannot_ be overstated.

"As your boss, you are legally obligated to help me! We're making mac 'n cheese with that bacon you picked out, so I hope you're hungry!"

"Wowie zowie! You can make something other than soup?"

Giovanni whipped around to see her meek yet definitely impish grin.

This kid...

"Easy on the sass gas, Bear Trap." He shook his head. "I swear, next thing I know you're gonna be hangin' with the wrong crowd, helping old ladies across the street just to spite me."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Gio."

He rolled his eyes, but stayed firmly in front of his minion to hide his wide smile.

* * *

"It'sa good thing you came to the Sweet Jazz Police, mista Blyndeff," the cop had grunted, typing something out on the terminal before lifting his cap with his thumb. "Tryin' to find her on yer own woulda been a recipe for disastah."

Martin nodded from his seat across, though slightly insulted at the lack of faith in him. Not like it wasn't warranted, but...

"So, uh, how does this all exactly work? Sorry if I'm comin' off as a bit forward."

The cop shook his head reassuringly. "In most cases, we woulda put up a missing person's case, some flyers, and go to work immediately. In this _specific_ case, we're gonna have our department ace on the hunt."

Martin's brows furrowed. "Specific? I-I mean, it's not like I'm _not_ grateful, but...why is Molly special?"

The cop stilled. He then lifted his cap up again just to stare Martin in the eyes, and Martin couldn't help but fidget under his scrutiny.

"Ya daughter was held hostage by _two_ criminal groups during the Sweet Jazz Museum incident, sir," the cop began slowly, as if explaining it to a particularly dense child. "Did you...really not know?"

Martin stared at his feet, and that silence was telling. He shook at the thought of Molly being held by criminals, crying and begging for her life. Why? Why didn't she...no. No, he knew exactly why she didn't tell him.

 _Would the old Martin have cared?_ the voice piped up, and he'd have to say no. The old Martin would've been playing a game on his daughter's phone while she was off...who knows where in the museum. The old Martin saw two phones, his keys, and no daughters and genuinely thought 'Yeah, this is fine!'.

Now that he saw it for all its ugliness, he very much wished that he could sock the old Martin in the face.

"Well, yer circumstances are yer own, sir," the cop finally said, snapping Martin out of his trance. "You can explain it to our star officer, the Knight 'a Sweet Jazz City, the Bane 'a Deviancy herself, Percivallllllll King!"

He pulled out a small trumpet and belted out a royal-sounding tune, Martin staring dumbly at him even as a tall, blonde-haired woman stepped out from across the hall.

"Officer Devon, please cease with that introduction. I require no fanfare, for I am only doing my duty."

"Ye ye, 'just doin' my duty', says the lady with trainin' on everything from patrols, to infiltration, to hostage negotiation, hell _pine-cone milkin'_ -"

Percy coughed into her hand, though if Martin focused hard enough he could see the faint beginnings of a blush on her cheeks. "There is no need for this, Officer Devon. I merely strive to serve the people at full capacity, and if that must require me in many different fields, then I shall learn with gusto."

"Sure doesn't explain the pine milk..."

She turned towards Martin, striding over to him with calculated steps before holding her hand out. "As stated before, I am officer Percival King. I overheard your case from around that corner and will assist, as I have fulfilled my case quota for the next two years and thus have...'free time'. It is a pleasure to formally meet you, civilian."

Martin fumbled and took her hand, noting with painful clarity that the woman had a _killer_ grip. "M-Martin...you can just call me Martin, officer."

"Hm. Very well then, Martin, you may refer to me as Percy if you wish."

"Percy, can we stop off at the Blyndeff Toy Emporium? I think there are clues as to where my daughter went in there, b-but I didn't wanna go in without...well..."

"What a good idea. Please follow me to the cop car, so that we can speak with the added benefit of locomotion."

With that odd request, Percy mechanically turned around and made her way out of the station, Martin quickly making his way out of his seat and hurrying after her. Getting into the passenger seat, the Blyndeff patriarch fidgeted with his hands as Percy started the car.

"Permission to speak freely, Martin?"

"Err, uh, sure?"

"Your daughter, Molly, is quite a resilient bean. Despite the trauma of being held by two groups of ne'er-do-wells, our interactions after the incident have been quite...pleasant. For that, I am glad, for her childlike kindness has been preserved in the face of fiendish intent. Who knows if her enemies are still prowling around in the dark, making heinous deals in the dead of night?"

 _Bean_ _?_ Martin shook his head, ignoring the officer's odd mannerisms. Percy took the action as an approval to continue.

"Therefore, I must ask if you have any details that could help in the investigation. Your cooperation in this case may prove invaluable."

While Percy's eyes were on the road, she heard rapid tapping on the armrest.

_A common sign of nervousness. Perhaps Martin is worried about the welfare of his daughter, understandable. Or perhaps..._

"I- we...we had an argument," Martin finally said, the words heavy in his throat.

_He was hiding something._

"I see," Percy replied neutrally. "I understand that the turbulent emotions experienced by the thoughts of your child in danger could have perhaps overtaken you, leading to an unfortunate series of exchanges-"

"No! I-I..." Martin gulped, willing himself to be truthful. To be an _adult_. "I got upset and yelled at her over something I shouldn't have. I...I even...grabbed her."

Percy's eyes widened imperceptibly.

"You...grabbed her."

"Y-Yes."

"...I see."

Nothing more was said as the two pulled up to the Blyndeff Toy Emporium. Percy undid her seat-belt and slid gracefully out of the car as Martin bumbled out.

"You lead, I will follow. While I am uncertain that rooting through one's private belongings is the moral thing to do, sacrifices must be made in the pursuit of justice."

"Oh, y-yeah. I, erm, about earlier-"

"Martin, as I am a professional I shall refrain from personal comments on the nature surrounding Molly's flight. Now then, shall we away to Molly's room? I do not wish to disturb her personal belongings and/or doodads more than necessary."

He couldn't help but cringe at Percy's slightly frigid tone, but he steeled himself. No regrets. He'd already disrespected his wife enough, it was time to face the consequences.

"R-Right... I'll just, um, unlock the door now."

* * *

Sylvie sighed and reclined further into his seat. Even expensive leather and some nice Thai food from the stall across the street couldn't ease his frustration at a busy work day.

_'Beefton suggests that you perhaps close the office earlier today, catch up on rest.'_

He was alone, so it was probably just easier to speak aloud. "If I close up early while someone still needs me..."

 _'They can call and book for an appointment tomorrow,'_ Beefton gruffly interrupted. Sylvie was sure he looked absolutely stupid glaring at the wall, but he also didn't really care.

"Benjamin."

_'Sylvester.'_

"..."

Beefton sighs, in that weirdly fond sort of way that only he can pull off when it concerns Sylvie. _'Beefton just worry for your health, Sylvester. A healthy adult needs about six to eight sleeping hours daily...and Beefton **knows** you only get five on a good day.'_

Sylvie groaned, dragging his hand down his face and skewing his glasses. "It is none of your concern, Benjamin. I will have you know that I am functioning perfectly fine, you know how my Epithet augments sleep."

He can almost imagine Beefton rolling his eyes at the petulance. _'Indeed. You are under the delusion that your Epithet compacts the rest you need into five hours. If Beefton has a PhD in death, then you, my dear Sylvester, have a PhD in youthful naivety._ _Honestly...'_

Sylvie bristles at this, and he can feel a shock of regret, Beefton's, tingle through his spine.

"Thank you, Ben," he whispers, ignoring Beefton's hurried apologies and sinking further into the chair, stewing in his anger and shame. Finally, the bovine doctor goes quiet, and he is finally alone. Doesn't anybody get that he's _working?_ That he means something now, that he's _saving people_ _?_

A child would be sitting in the dirt, laughing their ignorance for the world to see. Dr. Sylvester Ashling was no child, he had expectations to fulfill, a job to dedicate his life towards.

When even his own Epithet treats him like a dumb kid, who else can he trust?

 _'...There is nothing wrong with Sylvester being a child,'_ Beefton quietly responds, and Sylvie curses as he remembers that his mind is not solely his own. _'Beefton loves you and just wants you happy and healthy. Whether you are a child or not...it does not matter. Not to Beefton nor the Counting Sheep.'_

Something about the sincerity of his tone makes Sylvie's anger dissipate, now overtaken by shame. His eyes get misty, but he will _not_ cry, as crying is for children.

"...I-I know. I'm sorry."

_'Beefton has much to apologize for as well. It was not his intention to patronize or spit upon your efforts. Perhaps-'_

A buzzing tone interrupts their heartfelt talk. Quickly scrubbing his eyes with his sleeve, Sylvie clears his throat and checks the caller ID, noting that they're requesting a video call. His eyes widen.

_Molly?_

Pressing the call button, Sylvie is greeted with the backdrop of someone's house. It isn't hers nor Mera and Indus' apartment, so...

_Oh god no._

_"'Sup neeeeeerd!"_ A tinny voice calls out, Giovanni's sharp-toothed smirk greeting him as he moves his face into frame. Molly is in his lap, shooting him a joyful smile.

_"Um, hey Sylvie! It's Molly! Oh, and Giovanni is here too!"_

"Noooooo, he's heeeeeere," Sylvie whined, to the backdrop of Molly's awkward chuckle and Giovanni's indignant sputtering.

_"Sorry if we're bothering you, we just wanted to check up on you!"_

_"Uh, **you** wanted to check up on him, Bear Trap. I was perfectly cool with not calling up Dr. Psycho, and I was totally right because he is **super** disrespectful!"_

_"I remember you saying something different earlier, Boss~"_

_"Wha-?!"_

Sylvie scoffed, inwardly accepting the warm, fuzzy feeling he got over their concern. It was nice to feel wanted, even if Giovanni can't admit it.

Beefton lets out a relieved sigh as he stomps away, disappearing into the recesses of Sylvie's mind to give the boy some privacy. He has mulling over of his own to do anyway.

"Uh, well, I'm doing alright. Been busy with work and all that. Are you two having a sleepover or something? That doesn't look like Indus and Mera's, or the Toy Emporium..."

_"W-Well it's, um, it's a little hard to explain...I'm at Gio's house as a guest."_

"Is...that all?"

_"No, no, it's, uh...well, s-something happened at home. H-How about we talk about something else?"_

Giovanni puts a hand on her shoulder with a solemn grimace, his joking behavior earlier having evaporated near instantly. Being the genius that he _objectively_ is, Sylvie begins connecting the dots instantly.

He knows that tone from experience. That 'something' keeping her from home, the evasiveness, Giovanni's uncharacteristic protectiveness (at least he thinks it is, Molly is certainly okay with it), the fear of being found out despite being in no danger...it's all connected. But to what...?

Perhaps she was attacked by someone close to her?

He tried to valiantly ignore the furious heat creeping through his body at the thought, Beefton rushing back to the forefront in response to the sudden spike.

It couldn't be Giovanni. As much as he wanted to blame Mera and Indus (because perhaps they _would_ snap and hurt her, they were unrepentant criminals, they stole his _family-_ )

_'It is not them, Sylvester. While Beefton agrees that Mera was not...the greatest in the past, they would not hurt the small one after what she has done for them.'_

One guess, then.

"Does it have something to do with the Emporium? Your...father?"

She flinches, and Giovanni's eyebrows twitch. He feels paradoxical cheer and dread at being right, which mixes into guilt soon after.

"Hey, Molly? We're all friends here. I won't judge you. If you don't feel comfortable with telling me, then just don't," he stated, voice lowering to a gentle, melodious hum to truly immerse himself in 'therapy mode'. Beefton and Giovanni's approval makes the effort all the more sweeter.

_"I...y-you promise?"_

"I'd stake my entire career on it."

 _"Okay..."_ she says in that small voice of hers, the one that breaks your heart no matter how hardened it is. _"Well...it was yesterday, after I got home from school. I wanted to talk to dad, M-Martin,"_ Sylvie makes a mental note on how her face scrunches up, as if the name is foreign on her tongue. _"About my night shifts._ _I-I messed up, a-and-"_

 _"Nope,"_ Giovanni states, with conviction that brooked no argument. _"That ain't it."_

_"But-"_

_"Bear Trap, how many times do we gotta go over this?"_ he groaned, Sylvie staying dead quiet. _"Your dad was the one who decided to get that mad, alright? No matter what, he shouldn't have grabbed you."_

_"Gio..."_

_"He shouldn't have, right doc?"_

Sylvie blinked at the summon, but nodded. "There are many outlets one can employ to cool their heads in an argument. Counting to ten, stepping away, conceding a point, so on and so forth. Your dad grabbed you on...?"

_"T-The arm."_

_"Hard enough to bruise,"_ Giovanni quietly added, Molly making a distressed noise as she lightly slapped his knee. Snorting, Giovanni just brought her in with both arms and squeezed her like a ragdoll, conveniently hiding his stormy expression from the girl's sight.

 _'Sylvester,'_ Beefton lightly warns, _'Keep it together.'_

Sylvie breathes in deeply, lets it circulate through his body and soul, and then releases. Beefton is right, he'll just get peeved about it later. Right now, he's staring down a patient...and about to rip off the band-aid.

"Molly," Sylvie begins. "That is abuse."

She looked dismayed, and he couldn't blame her. Despite everything, Molly was just twelve, after all.

 _"N-No, I..."_ she petered off, looking towards the ground despondently. He could feel the phantom hand of Beefton on his shoulder and the hum of bleating in his ears, cold comforts. _"I wanna forgive him, I do...h-he's been hurting from mom's death for a while, I think. I **know** he didn't mean it, I just..."_

"It could have been any reason, Molly. Perhaps he did truly fall victim to his anger, but that doesn't change the fact that it's there. You're brave, so brave for wanting to forgive him, but he _hurt you_ , Molly. And that isn't okay."

Sylvie stamped down the ugly feeling as he watched the girl bunch her skirt up in-between sweaty fingers. He could see the shame on Molly's face clear as day, eyes clouding over with un-spilled tears. As if linked to her, Giovanni also starts to look miserable, and Sylvie wonders just when they got that close.

 _I wonder who really is her dad now,_ he muses, a bit of levity in an otherwise depressing situation.

_"I...I'm scared, Sylvie. I wanna go home and see Dad and- and talk to him about it but I'm just so **scared**...!"_

"And you are not at fault for being that way, Molly..."

_"I-I thought s-spending time wi-with Gio would help me forget b-but it didn't and-"_

"It is _not_ your fault."

 _"We'll think of somethin', kid,"_ Giovanni rasps, voice thick with emotion as he cradles Molly to his chest. _"E-Everything is gonna be alright, okay?"_

They hide their faces, Giovanni's in Molly's hair and Molly's in Giovanni's chest, but it's not hard to imagine the pain, the helplessness of it all as they just sit there and...cry.

It tears at Sylvie, as a psychologist and as their _friend_ , to see these two suffer.

_'Their time running may be coming to a close, Sylvester. If this Martin has any brains within him, he would have begun search immediately for whatever reason. Beefton is curious, will you make a plan?'_

Sylvie pushed his glasses up, the light reflecting off them with a sinister gleam. _Did you expect me **not** to?_

Beefton laughs, and he can hear a couple of the sheep bleat in agreement.

_'It seems as though we will have some calls to make, Sylvester. Clean up the office, please; a crowd will not so easily fit in a space this cluttered. Oh, and allow Beefton to make some Finnan haddie, aye? Comfort food.'_

_Ninety-five dollars a bag,_ the logical part of his mind whispers.

 _Look at Molly and Giovanni right freakin' now and tell me it's not worth it_ , the friend part of his brain challenges, and it preens at its immediate victory.

After this call, he had some express orders to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many ideas for this chapter, written over the course of holiday preparations. I hope it wasn't too all-over the place, I know perspective shifts can get pretty loopy when it jumps between too many people, and I DESPERATELY HOPE the Sylv-Molly-Gio conversation wasn't insensitive to actual abuse victims. I am no expert and you have my sincerest apologies if this offended you.
> 
> Molly is still a sad bean, Giovanni is one of those people who cry when you cry because he loves and supports you, and Sylvie is left to roll up his sleeves and go 'ain't havin' it chief'. I wonder what he'll do?
> 
> Oh, yes, nearly forgot. Yes, Beefton's full name is Benjamin Beefton here, like Benjamin Button. No, no one will ever know, Sylvie will kill them first.


	4. my back against yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An explanation, one long overdue, and a reunion, one fated to happen.

"Hm, this is...all quite interesting."

Percy took a close look at the evidence they had gathered yesterday. While it was regrettable, going through Molly's belongings took quite a while between the important paperwork regarding the store's running, school materials, and clothes. Time spent wisely, however, as there were many interesting items hidden around various corners and in all sorts of drawers

A business card for Sylvester Ashling's firm, with a hastily-scribbled _"SEND GET-WELL TOYS"_ on the back. A selfie of her with the infamous Banzai Blaster, Giovanni Potage, and his posse. The group was sending the 'peace' sign towards the camera with joyous grins. A heartfelt letter thanking Molly for an apparent visit during a period of infirm, signed by ex-convicts Indus Tarbella and Mera Salamin.

Martin sat at the dining room table with a hot cup of Earl Grey, twiddling his thumbs as he tried to piece together what the (rather innocent) evidence suggested.

"Normally, I would suggest the notion that your daughter has been been in cahoots with Giovanni Potage, and both have been using their evil influence to reintroduce Mera Salamin and Indus Tarbella to a grizzled life of crime," Percy began, not noticing Martin's crestfallen look as she paced back and forth. "However, it would be remiss of me to assume that Molly would be so easily bamboozled, as by your own admission she is in charge of the welfare of this establishment. Am I incorrect?"

Martin jumped a bit. "No, detecti- I mean, Percy."

She nodded. "Then perhaps...it's a stretch, but Molly may be trying to rehabilitate these criminals with the soft, tender kindness only a child can provide. A valiant effort, especially for one so squishy and unprotected as her, but a dangerous prospect to be sure. Who knows when she crosses the invisible threshold, offends these criminals with her well intentions, and puts her life in danger?"

Martin gripped the table, images of Molly begging for her life coming back to him with terrifying clarity. "Golly...w-where do we start...?"

"As a public figure, Dr. Ashling may be the easiest to reach. Perhaps he could have valuable information on where Molly has scurried off to, but we will never know unless we make haste. To the Percivalmobile!"

"...The Percivalmobile?"

"Why yes. The Percivalmobile," Percy restated, smiling as if it was completely natural. "I have gotten wind that my allies have taken to giving their partners nicknames, like 'Teddy' for Theodore. My trusty partners are my real-ass goddamned sword, whom I have already nicknamed Sword, and my cop car."

"...Uh-"

Martin's phone buzzed, catching him off-guard. Getting a nod from Percy, he flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

_"You're Martin Blyndeff, right?"_

He froze at the unknown man's gravelly tone, and was momentarily transported to a realm far beyond the pale.

A twisting city that always screams, a sleeping child in a bed of posies, a plot concocted by liars and charlatans.

Martin shook and shook and shook his head, this was wrong, They brooked no defilers, how dare you take what's mine, stop stop **stop _stop_** -

Martin frantically shook his head, and the visions of an eldritch tomorrow disappeared.

"Y-Yes, yeah I...I'm Martin. Who's calling?"

_"A guy who knows what's going on. A guy who knows where your daughter, Molly Blyndeff, is. And a guy you **really** don't wanna be bullshitting right now."_

Percy's eyes grew as wide as saucers as she quickly made to take the phone.

_"Those footsteps...someone else is there. A cop?"_

"A-Ah, no, I-"

_" **No games, Martin.** You've been playing a lot of those on your daughter's phone, I hear, don't you know that too many of those hurts your eyes?"_

Martin gulped as the man barked out a laugh, jolting as an ethereal finger caressed his cheek, and all the lines he had been practicing in his head dissolved into a gooey mess as he shook in his chair. On her end, Percy took a couple of quiet steps back, fiercely scowling.

"...Yes, I-I have contacted the police."

_"I see, I see. Understandable, you want your daughter back quickly after all. But, lemme ask you something friend, do you think your daughter wants **you** back?"_

That was the question. The one that now haunted his mind, reminded him that it was all wrong, he was all wrong. The one that someone _noticed_.

"I-I...I don't know," he trailed off quietly. "But I want to try...my daughters, they're all I have left. I haven't been a good father to them, I know! Please, god please I'm _begging you_ _tell me where_ -"

_"We work on my time, Martin, not yours. That was a good answer, though, I could almost feel your pathetic grovelling from this side 'a the phone. Maybe Molly would've been happy to hear it, we've been taking such good care of her over here."_

"What have you-"

_"Nothing, dear friend. Nothing yet. Ashling's office. Twelve. We'll be there. You try to scout the place out early, we'll see. You try to bust us, we'll know. You bring anything else other than your stupid ass and that copper's and **we will find you.** And knowledge is the most dangerous weapon in this game, right Martin? Well, not the **most** , knowledge doesn't strip flesh from bone, but I'm just being naughty!"_

The voices around him giggled, pleasant as a wind chime in a field of corpses as Martin quaked. Percy stood over in a corner glaring at the phone with a look to freeze Hell itself over, feeling a creeping dread but not knowing what the mysterious kidnapper's words meant.

_"Have a nice day, friend, and do be prepared to explain yourself. Over here, we're judge, jury...and **executioner**."_

He abruptly hung up as Martin crumpled over the table, hyperventilating. Sitting down next to him, Percy placed a firm hand on his shoulder and steeled her nerve.

 _'I see the choice has been_ _made,'_ she internally noted. _'A gamble, then. We march to the conclusion of this tale, no matter what it may be.'_

* * *

"..."

"Huh."

"Alrighty, I'm gonna use the bathroom, emergency. Tell me if the boss needs something, guys."

"Jesus _fucking **Christ**_ , Ben!"

Giovanni's boys stared incredulously as Ben took his old flip-phone and casually bent the top-half back so hard it snapped. Throwing the pieces on the ground, he happily stomped on them until they were naught but pieces of broken electronics, as if he hadn't just been implying that Molly was a hostage, and that her father and a police officer could be killed soon.

Simply put, Ben now scared the shit out of them.

"What, Dark Star?" the boy in question innocently asked, voice back to its affable nasally tone. "I binged _The Godfather_ trilogy like, last week."

"Impressive results for a movie binge," Crusher grunted, shooting a worried glance at Spike.

"Yeah, it's...motivational. Pure evil incarnate," she nervously followed up.

"Oh, haha you guys!" Ben shyly giggled. "Alright, I'll admit it, I have a _little_ pent-up anger. Just a _teeny_ bit, and acting has always been that outlet. I swear I don't let it affect work, so don't tell the boss!"

The three nodded, though Spike felt a...well, a spike of morbid curiosity lance through her.

"Hypothetical scenario, purely hypothetical, but what if we did?"

Ben let out a thoughtful hum as he ground his heel into the phone parts. "Well, boss'd probably try to get me professional help, which wouldn't do as we need to commit the _evil!_ I guess I'd get kinda mad, in any case. Like this one time in school, I was gettin' bullied by this posse and they kept beating me up, and I got _so mad_ I blacked out."

"...You blacked out?"

"Yep!" Ben replied cheerfully, the exact wrong emotion to have at such an event. "I have no idea what happened, but I was wearing his snazzy coat when I woke up and I guess I _really_ musta gave it to 'em or something, because _everyone_ wanted to be my friend after that! They'd bow, they were so happy to see me that they cried, and I even started this cool club and everyone got these cool robes! I think I still have the crown somewhere..."

He let out another hum, completely missing his friends' horrified reactions. "Oh right, the leader guy also musta bought me lunch before he left... _forever..._ 'cuz there was this red stuff flecked around the fur on the coat, and it tasted pretty good when I tried it. Was it, like, salsa? I dunno, actually, but the somethings in my head said it wouldn't hurt if I had a little more. Look, in any case, _really_ wanna thank that guy when I see him again, 'cuz I never woulda become Ben if we didn't meet!"

Ben winked and nudged Car Crash, who felt a cold bead of sweat run down his cheek.

"Ben," Crusher broke the silence. "Do you have an epithet?"

The boy scratched his head. "Erm, maybe? I mean, I don't know the word and I can't summon it, but now that you mention that thing that happened when I was a kid _was_ kinda...weird. And hey, there are some Inscribed who don't even know their epithet until they're, like, old 'n stuff! Maybe...maybe my epithet is 'Friend'!"

Ben slammed his fist into his palm, beaming so brightly that one could never imagine the lurking terrors beneath.

"Yeah, that feels so right! And also so wrong, but I'll discount that latter feeling! Positivity, right guys?"

Ben's eyebrows furrowed as the group quite clearly did not share his enthusiasm. "Hey guys, what's the matter? I know Flamethrower just went to the bathroom, but did you guys eat something bad without me? We're having-"

"Oi, boys, Finnan haddie is done, get it while it's fresh!" Beefton shouted, the sleeping Sylvie inside trying not to sneeze due to the smoke.

Ben ooh'ed, while the four who still remained ooh'ed with significantly less enthusiasm.

"I'm getting mine first then! See you guys inside!"

He ran off, finally leaving Dark Star, Spike, Car Crash and Crusher to let out the breaths they'd been holding.

"We all desperately try to forget this happened. I have a son."

"Hmm."

"Can't argue with that."

"Three things to establish: I'm going to have nightmares. Nobody is telling Giovanni that Ben has an epithet. And nobody gives Ben a reason to use it."

The three nodded at Car Crash's terms with complete sincerity.

* * *

Indoors, while Beefton was handing out the haddock to those who gathered, Giovanni and Molly were currently debriefing everyone on the situation as to avoid any confusion and misunderstandings given what was about to happen.

"Alright, so it's safe to say that you guys, Mera and Indus, got no clue about what's going on today right?"

Indus looked at Giovanni and shook his head, gently placing his empty plate on the table. "Lady Mera and I simply heard that Molly would need our aid very shortly, and that we were to arrive at Dr. Ashling's office promptly."

"Hm. How about you, minions?"

The ex-Blasters perked up at their boss' question and looked among themselves, shrugging and making noises of confusion. The only one who didn't was Ben, who eagerly nodded instead.

Giovanni idly noted that his boys looked frightened to be near Ben. The guy could be a bit dull and _annoying_ , sure, but he wasn't _that_ bad. Maybe a team-building exercise was in order...

"I got something of an idea from Molly," Ben said, shoveling the last bits of his portion in with gusto. "Seeing as how I was the guy to make the call 'n everything."

Molly blinked. "I thought Mr. Crusher was going to make the call."

"Well yeah, he was, but I offered to do it as my initiation into the squad and the boys said I was pretty scary," Ben shyly scratched his head. "Right guys?"

"Yep."

"Absolutely, no explanations needed here!"

"Uh."

"Suuuure?"

"Aw shucks, fellas," Ben giggled. Molly and Giovanni gave him a look, looked at each other, and wisely decided to shelve the topic for another time.

"Since we're running low on time, we'll compact the details. Molly?"

She nodded, her eyes steely. "I got into an argument with my dad on Friday, and stuff got kinda out-of-hand and he...g-grabbed me. So I panicked, used my epithet, and ran to Gio. I've been staying at his house for a day, but...I'm here to talk to my dad with Sylvie's help. I think he's hurting from the loss of my mom, a-and I think I can help him! I can't run away forever..."

"Uh, yeah you can. It's called 'my house' and you know that it is only the _best place you've ever visited ever_. But hey, if that's your choice...the rest of us are here to provide moral support," Giovanni cut in, patting Molly on the head. "And if Molly's dad is a huge jerk, we all have the right to beat him up."

"Gio, no."

"Gio, yes."

"Mera, maybe," the woman in question grumbled. "If I could get this damned Eraser band off...I know my epithet keeps me weak, but I have no idea _why._ I remember bits and pieces of what I _could_ do, but not the whole concept. This sucks..."

"Do not worry Lady Mera! I, too, cannot remove the Eraser band, for it is made out of a material as durable as I am! I wish I could remember my epithet, for the mental **BARRIER** blocking my understanding is...quite...nope, forgot it! Well, it is unimportant now," Indus shook his head. "What is important is that we are here for you! Molly!"

"Eh?"

"You have my solemn vow as a bodyguard that I, Indus Tarbella, shall never let anything like this happen to you again. In case you need protection, please feel free to call me on my magic square! Or physically run to my arms, which shall be open to embrace you!"

"Magic sq- oh, you mean your phone, stupid," Mera rolled her eyes.

"'Phone' does not properly describe its fantastical qualities, Lady Mera! Why, I can speak to you over long distances, I can search for your favorite meals, I-"

"My turn to talk, Indus," Mera grit out, blushing. "Look, I don't really...get family. My mom and dad tried to help, don't get me wrong, but at the end of the day they couldn't do a single thing. They wasted all that time and money for...nothing. And for a long time I had no idea why."

She breathed in. "I guess being around you and all your lughead friends was a good idea, though, because I'm starting to see it. You got me and Indus whenever, ki- Molly. If your dad wants to do something idiotic like this again, come to us and I'll make sure he won't have legs to try again. Well, more like Indus will, but I'll help."

She shot the girl a victorious smile, which Molly returned awkwardly but sincerely.

"You are quite the good speaker, Lady Mera," Indus whispered, smiling as he felt her gently elbow his ribs with a 'shut up, Indus'.

"Hey, don't forget Giovanni's Boys over here!"

"Title pending," Flamethrower added.

Spike got out of her chair and walked over to Molly, kneeling down and taking a small hand in hers. "If you need us for anything, anything at all, just call, alright? We take care of each other, 'cuz that's the most important thing about being in a squad!"

"Yeah, you're just as valid as anyone else, Bear Trap," Dark Star nodded.

"Aside from the thumb tack thing in the museum, I think it's amazing that you're so responsible! I-I mean, not that your working hours _aren't_ a bad thing..." Car Crash added.

"We look after our own," Crusher shrugged. "Simple."

"Just spitballin' here, but We'd totally help you hide a body!" Ben cheerfully concluded, the Boys to his immediate sides scooting away a bit.

"'We' as in us, right Ben?" Car Crash hedged.

"Uh, duh! I don't see anyone else corporeal enough to help us right now!"

"A-AhahaHA! Ben, y-you kidder!"

"Heeh̛̜͖̝̣ée͇̪̠̮̮!" Ben covered his mouth, scandalized as if he had broke wind. "Sorry, think I burped a little there. No idea what that was!"

"I can hear them laughing at the edge of my mind," Crusher grunted, shaking his head.

"Paranormal activities _aside,_ " Giovanni stressed. "We're all here for you, Bear Trap. Let's do this thing."

He held out a fist, and Molly lightly bumped it with a smile.

* * *

Of course, noon came sooner than expected. Martin and Percy, no more prepared than they were hours ago when the call struck, drove out to Dr. Sylvester Ashling's firm to meet Molly's kidnapper.

"Exercise caution, Martin," Percy quietly warned, pulling up in the lot with a perfect park job. "I had no reason to suspect these thugs before, but after that call...who knows what heinous experiments they have subjected Molly to?"

"Y-Yeah, definitely. What, uh, what I think would help is if you don't put those thoughts in my head, please..."

"Oh, my apologies. I will guard you from behind, but you must put up a brave front. You heard the intimidating felon, it is you who must climb into the belly of the beast for not just our sake...but your daughter's."

Martin took a deep, calming breath, failing as the dark part of his mind noting that Percy could probably not really help him against whatever void beasts kidnapped his daughter, before nodding anyway. "I-I gotta live to tell Molly I'm sorry. My late wife, Bera...she wouldn't have it a-any other way...!"

Percy nodded, brows softening. "Your current bravery would most certainly warm her heart. Let us move, Martin, and may the spirit of justice keep us in Their light."

They slid out of the car and marched with purpose to the shaded doors. Gulping, Martin shook himself out and exhaled before pulling the door open...

And being greeted with a dark, empty lobby. A single light illuminated an open door, but nothing else.

"Hmm. It's quiet... _too_ quiet. Unless it's..." Percy nodded to a sign, a simple arrow pointing up the stairs. "...supposed to be."

Martin gulped, but did as the sign commanded and ascended the stairs. Following the sparse lighting, he and Percy traveled down the hallway to come up to Sylvester's office.

"This must be it. You have nothing to fear, Martin. I am right behind you, and if needs be I shall sacrifice my life to save you and your daughter."

Martin blinked, but shot her a nervous smile. "T-Thank you, officer."

And pushed open the door.

* * *

Light flooded into the previously dark room, though the figures on the side stayed hidden in the dark. What was only in view was a large, ornate-looking desk with the eponymous Sylvester Ashling lounging in his chair.

"...Doctor? Are you in any danger?" the police lady cautiously asked from behind Martin

"No, I am not, but thank you for asking. I ask that you stay calm, officer, because none of us here are looking for a physical altercation."

"Who is this 'us' you are ominously referring to, doctor?"

Sylvie clapped twice, the lights slowly coming on as it revealed everyone in the room. Giovanni's boys flanked the right side in their old Blaster uniforms, their true identities thankfully obscured as a result. On the left was Molly's personal group, with the girl sitting in the middle on Giovanni's lap. Mera and Indus were by her side, grasping both her hands in a comfortable but tight grip.

It was a balm against the fear she felt when she locked eyes with her dad, who looked at her like they had spent years apart.

"Take a seat if you would, Mr. Blyndeff," Sylvie suggested, voice neither cold or kind. Martin stumbled forth and did so, Percy turning to keep her back to his and an eye on the room's inhabitants. A hand was firmly on her sword, a warning that she if she had to, she'd go down swinging.

Molly shot her an awkward smile, but it withered a bit as Percy's expression was torn between glaring at the felons and smiling back. It settled on glaring when Giovanni and Mera noticed Molly's sadness, misinterpreted it, and shot Percy heated looks. Indus, clearly uncomfortable, simply rubbed Molly's small hand in his own.

"E-Erm, that voice on the phone...you didn't hurt my daughter, right?"

Everyone gave Ben a confused look, while the man in question shot one back.

"Um, no? As you can see, Molly is completely unharmed. I suppose our associate felt the need to hasten your arrival, and you have our sincere apologies for the scare."

Martin nodded.

"I'm here to explain myself to my daughter and...w-whatever this organization is."

"Very well then. Before you begin, Martin Blyndeff, you will establish the fact that you have neglected your daughter for over a year and both physically and emotionally abused her in recent history."

Martin heaved a sigh, bringing a hand up to massage his eyebrows. "I, ah- yes. Yes, I do confirm that's the case."

Sylvie nodded, face almost unnaturally calm. "Good. The entire room swears that they have bore witness to the information?"

A chorus of muttered affirmations rose up, Flamethrower murmuring a question on whether this was a therapy session or a courtroom.

"The floor is yours, Molly, Martin. We will intervene when and if necessary. I hope that isn't too much of a problem, officer...?"

"Percival King, of the SJCPD. I will allow this dialogue, but know that I, too, shall join in if this dialogue becomes covered in hair."

Sylvie nodded, steepling his hands on his desk. "Molly?"

She nodded, looking up at Giovanni, then Mera, and then Indus. They slowly let her go after a wordless reassurance, and she walked over on shaky legs in front of her father.

"H-Hi dad..." she murmured, looking at the ground before hazarding a look into his eyes. He looked...older. He wasn't dressed in khakis or that floral shirt, but a clean suit that wouldn't look out-of-place on your standard businessman. His eyes had lost the old luster it had, but gained something new, something clearer than before.

She almost saw someone trustworthy in them.

"Hey Molly," he rasped, arms twitching to pull her into an embrace but wisely deciding not to. One, she was shaky and jittery, and two, the pink-haired man to the left of the room was giving him quite the glare.

"It's, uh, it's been a while, hasn't it? Your dumb ol' dad has done...a lot thinking, lately."

"I can see," she whispered, jolting as a finger lightly tapped her shoulder. Whipping around, she saw Sylvie kindly smile at her as he motioned to his seat, and after a quick whispered argument she sighed and clambered around, getting in as Sylvie got out. Pushing the chair in a bit, father and daughter came face-to-face with each other on almost-even ground.

"Yeah, yeah..." Martin coughed into his hand, trailing off uselessly. "I, um, I see you've been making friends! That's...good?"

"They're...they've been there for me. I know it looks really weird, but...I wouldn't trade them for anything. Not, um...not even for you."

"Hsss."

"Shut up, Dark Star."

Martin couldn't help but hiss himself, scratching his beard. "Ah. T-That's, well, that's warranted. I guess...no, I-I trust you. I may not look it, but I trust your judgement, Molly. I love you and Lorelai."

Molly gulped. "Yeah. That's why we're here, right? If you didn't love us, you wouldn't have come. Right...?"

He nodded, collecting himself before beginning with the tale.

"So, Molly," Martin began, running a hand through his hair. "I should really explain what, uh, what's been going on these last two years. I...I wasn't a good dad after your mom...well, died. After...my wife died. She was my _world_ , Molly."

His face showed a brief hint of breaking, but he breathed in through his nose. "Back when your old man was still in school, I was always a...sad kind of guy. There was nothin' driving me back then. Why try to do anything when everything is just...pointless? Why try to understand something if you didn't get it the first time around? Why even bother breakin' free from the cycle if there's nothing to go for? I...I don't know what woulda happened if I didn't meet your mom."

The room was silent, and the lack of reaction spurred Martin on. "Your mom, Bera Blyndeff, was one heckuva spitfire!" he chuckled briefly. "Unlike me, that woman believed that the entire world was her oyster, full 'a mysteries that were waiting for her. She was a ball of energy, and you couldn't help but get caught up in her flow. I sure did, she wouldn't leave me alone! 'Why are you so sad?' she'd asked, and when I told her how I felt she'd looked at me once and said 'Well now I just can't leave you alone, Martin Shrimpley'."

"Wait, but my name is Blyndeff. What happened to Shrimpley?" Molly asked, and Martin almost smiled at how uncharacteristically childlike her eyes were at the moment. No laughing, no jeering, just a pure question rooted in the innocent desire to know.

Bera's daughter for sure.

"When two people get married, one usually adopts the other's last name," he revealed, sitting back in his chair. "I took your mother's, because I didn't want you or Lorelai to have to go through school and get bullied for something you didn't choose. I had your mother to protect me, and boy howdy did she throw a mean straight, but...y'know..."

Martin shook his head. "I-I'm gettin' off track. Molly...me and your mom loved each other a lot. We hung out together all the time, watched the latest movies, played all sorts of games together, all that yucky romance stuff. She proposed to me in a crowded theater during a horror flick, even! So when that fire happened, a-and...and we lost her...I didn't know what to do. We did everything together, so when she left one day...I fell apart...everything just felt pointless again."

He rubbed his eyes, not even hazarding a look at Molly. "One last flashback, I swear. I had an...episode. In my senior year of high, a little time into dating your mom. I, uh, I had a freak out over some things, I'll explain it when you're older. Called your mom and she barreled over to my place, virtually kicked my door down and just...held me. I remember what she said...'Don't you let go, Martin. When you feel like everything is empty, distract yourself. Read a book, play a game, make some of those dolls again, I don't care. Keep at it long enough until I get there," he gasped. "'Just don't you ever let go. I'll be there. I...I love you.'"

Molly stared at him as he put a hand over his mouth, scrunching his eyes shut as a few tears broke loose.

"She never came...she's never coming back..."

"..."

"I waited so long...I ruined everything for **WHAT?!** " he suddenly yelled, slamming his hand on the armrest. " **NOTHING! I JUST**...I...I wanted it all to just go away. I wanted to bury it all...how angry I was, I _am_...at her leaving us...how guilty I am for not being able to _save her_ , how I'm stuck here instead of her, because she'd be doing a helluva better job than me! But what I couldn't face the most was you and your sister."

"D-Dad..."

"I shouldn't have grabbed you like that."

"Dad, i-it's okay, I understand-"

"No!"

Martin lurched forward and froze. Slowly, he brought a hand up and moved it towards the desk. Cautiously, he laid it over his daughter's, and a part of him was relieved when she didn't pull away.

"No. I was wrong. I'm sorry, Molly. For the last two years I have _failed_ you and Lorelai. I was so busy distracting myself I didn't even think about how you two would feel...now look at us. Lorelai is off doing god knows what and you ran away because I did something really stupid. I haven't been keeping this family together at all...heck, Bera'd probably kick my butt if she saw this..."

A soft pressure caused him to look up, at Molly's little hands grasping his own.

"Dad, I miss mom too. I love her, and I love you too."

"Yeah?" he rasped.

"Yeah. I-I'm sorry...we're gonna fix this, r-right?"

Martin gently took his hand from hers, stood up and held his arms wide open. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he started crying when she got out of her seat and hugged him.

 _You big crybaby,_ he could hear Bera tease as they laid under the stars. He'd never refuted.

"Don't you ever be sorry, Molly..." he sobbed, gently pressing her head into his chest. "I love you, I'm so proud of you, I'm so sorry...!"

"Dad...dad...!" she cried back, tightly grasping his jacket as she hugged with all her might.

"We're gonna fix this..." he muttered, holding her tight. "I promise...!"

"...Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm...I'm proud of you, too..."

"...Yeah."

The two stood there and cried, lost in their own world of regrets and dreaming of new beginnings.

* * *

"Whaddya think is going on in there, boss?"

"Dunno," Giovanni muttered, staring at the two as they cried. Molly had put down a silencing bubble as soon as Martin had begun his speech, either unconsciously or for privacy. In any case, whatever they shared would be forever unknown.

It must've went well, though, seeing as Molly jumped into his arms. That's how those sorts of things are, right?

"I hope it did," Percy commented, glancing at them before stoically staring at Giovanni. "You were Molly's caretaker during her time on the run, yes?"

"Yeah, I was. Got a problem with that?" he growled back, Percy raising an eyebrow.

"No. Even for a Banzai Blaster, I must admit that the sincerity of your care is admirable."

"My minions are my family, there's nothing I wouldn't for them," Giovanni confidently declared. Car Crash winced and pat Crusher on the back, who only slumped his shoulders.

"But Molly was your hostage," Percy's eyes narrowed. "Is that perhaps an admission to your corruption of the youth?"

"Uh- well- I mean, I, er...uhhhhh-"

"We've actually quit the Banzai Blasters, police ma'am," Ben stated, sliding over to Percy with almost impossible grace. "We've turned over an entirely new leaf since we left the Blasters' toxic influence! Our first good deed was taking care of that poor lost girl, in fact!"

"Interesting, most interesting. That does not excuse your past actions, however."

"Oh sure, sure!" Ben cheerfully conceded. "But did we _reaaaaally_ do anything bad?"

"You loitered in front of a pickup truck before scurrying off after a heated warning."

"Because one of our own had a nasty case of heatstroke! It was a hot day, don't you remember, ma'am?"

Percy blinked. "I...do not. What of your shoplifting habits, which include multiple bars of candy?"

"Those candy bars were the only food we could _get_ , officer. Who would want to hire ruffians like us? The only avenues of betterment we could attain were of...less savory sort," Ben responded with almost practiced ease, and Giovanni swore he could hear Ben's pitch subtly shift.

"Oh. I...did not realize. I apologize, then."

"Oh, no no, don't apologize. There's nothing wrong with that," the boy soothed, voice taking on an inhuman, velvety richness. "But don't you think that your accusatory mindset is the product of society's stifling teaching methods? We were instantly in 'the wrong' for bothering that man, and for what? Our status. You think of us as rabble-rousers and villains, but the establishment that has failed us, the public that shuns and condemns us without thought like _animals_ , is that not villainy in its own right?"

Percy stared ahead. "...I did not think of it like that."

"And that, too, is not of your own fault. Percival King, you have a heart so large and pure that I cannot help but bask in it, hoping to steal some of that eternal light for myself. Please, reach into that everlasting well and forgive our transgressions. Peek beyond the veil with which you have been born with, and rise anew. You can trust me..." he whispered, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Instantly, she was transported to a sunless realm, a beach of endless sand that was black and white and gray and love and hate it astounded her. The water lapped at her bare feet, she could hear it giggling, she trusted it, it wouldn't steer her wrong, He wouldn't lie to her in His infinite compassion-

"I..."

"Just _trust me_."

Percy suddenly snapped back to her plane of reality. "...Hm. I suppose that I could have approached your circumstances with more leniency. After all, there are many Banzai Blasters who have turned to villainy in place of an acceptable support system."

"Right, right! Now you're starting to see it!" Ben removed his hand.

"And it is commendable that you and your little motley crew abandoned the Banzai Blaster organization when their true evil manifested. Giovanni Potage, I will be monitoring you, but rest assured...you and your own will not be labelled criminals."

Giovanni stared dumbly at her and Ben, as did everyone who wasn't Molly or Martin. For some odd reason, it felt as if everyone had been put in a trance...

"Eh, cool?"

"Cool indeed. I look forward to watching you lot grow into beautiful, socially-accepted butterflies."

"Ooh, I love butterflies! My favorite is monarch!" Ben added, voice having shifted back imperceptibly. Nobody noticed the other corner, Car Crash frantically preforming the sign of the cross as fast as he could while the Blasters futilely prayed with him.

Shaking off the weird cobwebs in his skull, Giovanni looked back at Molly and Martin and found that they had stopped crying, and were talking about something or other with teary smiles.

It warmed his heart, not that he'd ever admit it.

 _All's well that ends well,_ Giovanni internally sighed and reclined in his seat. He doubted it was all really over, but for the most part it seemed that this tale had a good ending.

_Guess we're due for an epilogue chapter at this point, eh?_

He smirked to himself as he looked out the window, catching the bewildered gaze of Sylvie sitting under it. As if the world really worked that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter was ALL over the place (and a bit later than I hoped)! Haven't been sleeping too well these last couple of days, and this chapter has been worked on for the last week in bits and pieces! There are probably a ton of errors and I could've probably worked with some sections a little more, but the main plot is DONE in any case. All that's left is the epilogue before I move on to shorter stories!
> 
> But now for some quick messages on some headcanon!
> 
> On Spike's son: Adopted. Spike was off prowling around in the dead of night, looking to harass some people because she is most definitely EVIL and not a petty thug, when she came across your standard baby in a box, thrown alongside trash and empty beer bottles. Naturally, as a bad guy, she immediately claimed the baby as her own, ran home, and cried to Giovanni about it for half an hour straight.
> 
> The baby's official evil name is Skewer, and each and every one of Giovanni's Boys can't help but spoil and love him. Skewer is a little bundle of sunshine and loves meeting new people, but nobody has it in them to teach the baby proper 'bad boy' behavior.
> 
> Some notes on Ben's (completely disgustingly headcanon) epithet: it dawned on me during a sleepless night, haha! 'What if Ben was actually the strongest and he was just...so dumb' was too irresistible. The specific epithet would probably be 'Eldritch' as a cop-out, but could also be something like 'Perceive'. 
> 
> It's exactly as horrifyingly strong as one would imagine it to be, but the catch is that Ben has absolutely no proficiency; activation is completely random, usually beneficial and sometimes REALLY NOT, and has some relationship with his emotions. Yes, he totally did create a Great Old Ones cult during the first manifestation, but whether he's a meat puppet for channeling them or a burgeoning deity himself and reaching out to some relatives is unknown. The few who know aren't too willing to dig deeper and find out, lest they go mad.
> 
> If he IS a part of the Yog Sothothery, however, he'd probably be the friendliest one. Probably.
> 
> EDIT (9:35, 1/3/2020): Oh well look at that, already spotted a slight error in Mera's dialogue. It's fixed! Might have to do more of these edits...


	5. together again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The road to redemption is long and bumpy, but father and daughter make it work. Thankfully(?), there are friends watching them every step of the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What an adventure this story has become! Now that it's formally over, I'd like to genuinely thank everyone who tuned in and/or left a comment on this work, I've read them all. Really, you lot have been a huge motivation for me to write and I am so glad you liked every moment of it, even when I wasn't too sure myself. 
> 
> Thanks again! Please read the end notes, I need your help with something regarding my next work!

"And this right here is a...goldfish. Just a regular, store-bought goldfish. I have no idea what significance this goldfish has to the exhibit and frankly? I believe someone threw this in the exhibit on their lunch break. I am contractually obligated to ask that you take notes, however! _Please._ "

Molly let out a deep sigh as she cracked open her notebook and wrote down some polite yet bland observations. Of course there would be a ton of trips towards the beginning of holiday season, what teacher actually wants to do their job with the tantalizing eventuality of a week-long vacation hanging over their head?

On one hand, great, no homework! On the other hand, which is not great, is that the holiday season for the Blyndeff Toy Emporium was approaching. A time of frantic shoppers, rude parents and hyperactive kids.

Molly sighed, shaking her head. She could worry about the Christmas rush later, all it was doing was putting more stress on her than was needed right now. Plus, with her dad now actively trying to work with her, maybe this season wouldn't be as bad as the ones before it.

Sure, it wasn't perfect. A lot of their interactions had an air of caution to it, as Molly tried her best to be upfront with him about her problems while Martin tried to reign in his whimsy and be honest with his daughter about how _he_ was feeling. But they were trying, and just knowing that there was genuine effort on both their parts took a ton of weight she didn't even know was there off her shoulders.

Now if only Lorelai could show her face...

"Hey! Hey, Molly!" Martin shouted, snapping her out of her little world. Thankfully, he only strode towards her compared to his previous all-out running, so the attention he brought was minimal. "I found this thing at the gift store!"

"O-Oh, neat...?"

"Got it for you, sport!" he toothily grinned, placing the small keychain figurine of a shark in her palm. "Just to commemorate our time out!"

She smiled, staring at the little keychain wistfully. Blinking, Martin slowly crouched down with a wince to get to eye level with her.

"Are you, uh...doin' alright, Molly? Is your, erm, your miso...phobia...acting up?"

"It's misophonia, and no, I'm alright for now. I'm just thinking about mom...would she have liked to come here?"

Martin sighed, running a hand through his hair before chuckling a little. "Molly, you know she would've loved to spend time with you no matter what. Lookit me, I'm a big dope and she married me! She was, well, she was just...great like that."

"...Thanks, dad. Really."

He smiled and groaned as he stood up again, he stretched and let out a sigh of relief as bones audibly popped into place. He hazarded a glance at the tour guide, who was at this point _very_ short on patience.

"Please, for the _love of God_ , someone tell me the biological class that the starfish belongs to, I **literally** just said it!"

Stink raised his hand. "Um...star?"

"...become a lawyer, mom said. You can't survive on an art degree, mom said! Why is she **ALWAYS** right?!"

Molly and Martin stared at the circus for a little while longer before Martin gently nudged her shoulder. Looking up, Molly couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her father's impish grin.

"How's about we ditch 'em and look at the dolphins?"

"W-Wha- Dad!"

On one hand, the offer was...kinda tempting, if Molly had to be honest. Dolphins sounded infinitely more interesting than watching fish as big as her hand swim around in circles and do a whole lot of nothing. Her teacher wasn't even here, Martin being the only chaperone. But there was also a rule to stick to the class! But the tour was so boring...

"-and that's why the museum tour was cooler!"

"W-Well, does the _museum_ have any live fish in it?"

"No, but I got this cool sword out of it!"

"Can I use the bathroom?"

"Can we go home now?"

"Can we ruminate on the futility of life, knowing how our planet is but one speck of dust within the infinite expanse of the cosmos?"

"Girl, why are you like this?"

Molly heaved a sigh, the cacophony already starting to wear on her. Martin, connecting the dots, shuffled a bit on his feet before placing a hand on her hair and ruffling it. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, sport. Hum...how about we just look for a quiet spot, sit down, and just watch the crowd go by, alright?"

Molly looked away nervously. "N-No, we can, y'know, look at the dolphins-"

"I asked you what _you_ want to do, Molly," Martin firmly stated, patting her head. "I can wait."

It was silent for a couple of minutes as Molly internally debated, but she eventually sent a look up at him.

"C-Can we go find somewhere to sit...?"

"Oh yeah we can," Martin rumbled, smiling as he took his daughter's hand and wandered away from the crowd.

It felt...good to act like a father again.

* * *

"Alright, he's taken her hand and he's leading her away from the crowd. Bear Trap's misophonia was probably actin' up, huh..."

"Giovanni, do we really need to be here?" Sylvie groaned, rubbing the sand from his eyes as he glanced around the area. He wasn't quite sure how he should've responded to Giovanni breaking into his office the minute it opened and essentially manhandling him into a pickup truck, but it was probably somewhere between 'existential emptiness' and 'all-consuming exasperation'.

"I'm pretty sure we talked to Martin enough about Molly..."

Giovanni scoffed, lowering his binoculars and picking up a chicken nugget. " _Talking_ and _doing_ are two separate things, Dr. Snoozefest. I wanna trust Molly's dad, but I gotta make sure he's really giving it his all. So far...I guess I'm a little impressed."

Sylvie rolled his eyes as he watched the man virtually inhale his order.

"I could've been working today."

"Yeah, instead you're hanging out with a cool friend in a cool aquarium, lucky you!"

"F-Friend...? Wait, no, you are not distracting me, I did have some patients today, Giovanni!"

"Okay but have you ever actually hung out with anyone...ever."

"Alright, well, listen here you-"

The two continued to bicker, completely missing the table across from them sending the pair shifty glances.

"Who do you think those guys are, Feenie...?"

"Well Trixie, if I had to make a guess," the blonde-haired girl put a delicate finger to her chin. "They are hooligans, planning a great heist to steal these priceless fish, through the use of binoculars to 'scope out the area', as common slang dictates."

"...No, I- didn't you hear them talk about Molly earlier?"

"Oh! Oh. Yes."

The purple-haired girl sighed. "Okay, so they're probably watching Molly. By that logic...?"

"Oh no!" the taller girl gasped, and Trixie was briefly fooled into believing she was onto something. "They intend to make Molly uncomfortable by flaunting their technology, of which our dear friend does not have!"

"Y'know what, that's the closest we're gonna get, so sure."

"This shall not stand! After our meal, we will confront these rapscallions," the girl exclaimed as she picked up a knife and fork, bells jingling as her ridiculously long hair bounced. "So long as I am a magical girl, I shall brook no injustice towards those I care about! I am Phoenica Fleecity the- ah. Well."

Juice spilled out of the sliced cup, splattering all over the bottom of Phoenica's dress and down her legs. Trixie dumbly stared at her, glanced at the cup, the straw next to it, and finally slid down her seat to look at the mess.

"I suppose the cup was too juicy. Oh well."

"Why would you...?"

Phoenica laughed airily, swatting at the air. "Silly Trixie, you do not use a fork and knife on a salad, I am learned after all!"

"Yes!" Trixie hissed. "Yes, you _do!_ "

"Then why do such things as 'salad sets' exist, my friend?" Phoenica asked, tilting her head in completely sincere confusion. "These are pedestrian tools for pedestrian edibles! If I made a more precise cut, perhaps I could have accessed the sealed treasure within..."

"T-The straw?"

"Is quite obviously used to blow away any intruders. Really, Trixie, it's called _intuition_."

Dragging her gaze up, Trixie gave her one long look of suffering before grabbing a stack of napkins.

"C'mere. We're going to the bathroom to clean you up."

"Oh, thank you, but I can just take it off and-"

"Get over here and follow me **now.** "

"Yes Trixie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done! With this story, anyway. As you can tell by the ending, I'm feeling like a Trixie & Phoenica story is coming up soon. They ARE Molly's best friends, after all, and they'd be very curious to find out how Molly found all these weird strangers and adopted them as family.
> 
> What I DON'T have, however, is a concrete handle on their personalities. I know next to nothing about Trixie other than her Epithet being related to ghosts, and I only know from Jello's Tumblr that Phoenica is a magical girl from a ridiculously wealthy family of them who is great at her studies and adorably stupid everywhere else. I tried to write Trixie as the responsible one, but the fact of the matter is that could be entirely wrong and I'd never know, which is totally not good if I'm writing a story that involves the two of them in a major role.
> 
> If there's anyone who watched Anime Campaign, can you sum up the pair's Epithet and personalities? As a comment or a DM, I'd appreciate it either way! I'm aware that this information might be considered spoilers, though, so everyone who wants to keep it a surprise tread lightly!


End file.
